dean, chelle, and our sweet little kara

My absolute last project for school was to write a paper on how my clinic experience was. So here you have it....

~~~

Two words. “Purple underwear.” That pretty much sums up my clinic experience. Or wait, no, that sums up my reasons I need to go to a therapist. See, I somehow thought that clinic was going to be a walk in the park, I would have the worlds most normal and relaxed clients and I would fix everyone’s aches and pains with my magical hands and they would sing my praises. But purple underwear proved otherwise.

~~~
January 7th, 2008, a day that will live in infamy. It was my first day of clinic, and I came bounding into the school rearing and ready to go only to find out that my first client had cancelled, much to my dismay, so I sulked back to the classroom to work on homework when after a little while Mrs. VenHorst came back and said a gentleman had just walked in, he’d never been here before, and she was wondering if I would do his massage since my client had cancelled. “SURE!! OF COURSE!!!” I go get his paperwork, introduce myself, he fills it out, and then we walk on back to the couples room where I ask him if he has any specific areas of discomfort that he would like worked on. “My neck and back.” Ok, I can do that. “Alright Mr. ---, get undressed to your comfort level and lie down on your back, and I’ll be back in just a minute.” I close the door and go make sure my lotion is filled all the way to the top because heaven forbid I would run out during my first massage. A couple of minutes have passed and I figure that by now he is all settled in and I can get this show on the road. I knock on the door and ask through the bitty open space if he is ready and he says he is. I walk in and there is my first client, laying on the table in just his purple underwear. No sheets on top of him.
~~~
Now, the human brain is an amazing thing because within 2 seconds I had at least 10 different thought processes go through my head as to what I should do about my near-naked client. My internal conversation went a little something like this, “Yikes!! What is this guy doing? Did I not tell him to lay under the sheets when I was telling him what to do? Crud, come to think of it, I don’t think I did. Still, what kind of a person would lay on top of a massage table? Sheesh, this isn’t a massage parlor because if he thinks it is, he’s got another thing coming! Purple underwear!?!? I wonder why a grown up professional man is wearing purple underwear?! At least I can thank my lucky stars that he’s wearing those and didn’t decide to strip down to his birthday suit. Man, how can I ask him to cover up without making him feel embarrassed? Look at how uncomfortable he already looks. Oh well, I can’t look at those purple underwear one second longer…”
~~~
So partially in the interest of self preservation, I kindly tell him that I’m going to cover him up with the sheets so that he can be warmer, and it was no surprise he looked a little relieved. I start the massage, and I’m making sure I do every movement 3 times just like I was taught, I use correct body mechanics, and I ask him how the pressure was every 5 minutes. Even though the purple underwear situation was remedied, he still couldn’t completely relax throughout the massage and my little philly heart was broken because I thought I was going to have the most sedating and relaxing effect on every one of my clients and yet my very first one looked and felt like he was about to be buried six feet under. Oh well, at least I got a $10 tip. I’m kidding Mrs. B! (but I really did get a $10 tip from him which was much appreciated)
~~~
Well, Purple Underwear client pretty much set the stage for some of my clinic experience. I had the lady who wanted her breasts to be exposed for her entire massage (yeah, I was having none of that), another lady who informed me partway through the massage that she was having green discharge from one of her nipples, another who told me her life story and it would even make Oprah cry, and another who started crying on the massage table while telling me about how her husband passed away recently. I had the gentleman who I am pretty sure watches movies and takes scenarios from them and thinks that he has all the knowledge and capabilities that the character had and makes up situations and puts himself in them when he really wasn’t. I had my lady who pretty much screamed and scared all of the other clients in the building while I massaged her. I had a lady who I cannot even begin to describe the body odor and just general smell that she put off. I had the sweet 20 year old who had just gotten back from his second tour of the Middle East and was suffering from severe PTSD as he had just recently seen some of his friends killed in combat and he himself had been hit with schrapnel on 2 different occasions. Another one of my clients lost her brother and her friend in 2 different accidents within 2 weeks of eachother. I had many I-want-to-beat-my-head-against-a-wall moments, but for every uncomfortable or frustrating situation or client, there were 3 other clients who were perfectly normal and I came to love and look forward to our sessions.
~~~
I had my wonderful 70-something year old lady that came in weekly for her half hour back and foot massage, and she was so sweet that I wanted to adopt her as my own grandmother. I had another sweet lady who loved to chat throughout the massage and she loved to talk about how she is involved in her church and how she lives to serve people. I had the worlds sweetest pregnant lady who was about to give birth to her first baby and she talked and talked about how excited and nervous she was for labor and the responsibility of raising a newborn. I had my 80-something year old lady who was so kind and loving that I had to give her a hug at the end of the session (when she was clothed of course!). I had my esthetic student who wanted the worlds deepest pressure and she was so willing to tell me where she wanted more pressure or where she wanted me to ease off and just had the overall best attitude. And I can’t forget about the gentleman who has the worlds most ticklish feet, we had a good laugh together. And of course I have tons more stories and clients that were wonderful and I couldn’t wait for our next appointment because they all made me want to be a better person.
~~~
All jokes set aside, I had a wonderful clinic experience. I learned how to better communicate with clients to make them feel more comfortable and at ease since they are being put in a vulnerable position. I made sure to call every client “friend” which I could also see many people visibly put at ease because who doesn’t like to feel like they are someone’s friend!? I made sure to end every extremity with a light feather stroke which almost every single client seemed to love and respond positively to. I learned how ask questions about their health history and I even was able to explain to some clients why they were hurting where they were from information they told me about their habits and jobs. I learned that saying, “Thank you so much for letting me work on you” to every client made them feel like it was time well spent even if they didn’t find instant relief from their problem areas. I learned to leave the room as soon as I told someone to dress down to their comfort level because they are going to start getting undressed right then regardless of whether or not I am still in the room. I learned more or less what a tight muscle feels like which I never thought would happen. I learned that correct body mechanics really are important and can make or break your day.
~~~
On top of having either odd or wonderful clients, my classmates and teachers made the difference. Mrs. B and Dr. Brooke, you two are absolutely amazing. You both are so understanding and you have an sharp wit and sense of humor which the world needs more of. I love that I could laugh and joke with you guys and yet we could be serious when needed. Mrs. B, I’m glad I didn’t have to do go that WalMart chair massage day because it wouldn’t have happened; I would have gotten there and someone probably would have shoplifted my chair when I was turned around to grab a face cradle cover, and then I just would have gone shopping like I do every time I walk into that market-dominating store. So thank you for not making me do that! And as for my classmates, what a diverse group we had but we sure had fun. Of course we had our annoyances and clashes, but that comes along with spending so much time with each other. Honestly, one of the greatest lessons I learned at school besides A&P and Theory and Business, was I learned how to stand up for myself and my beliefs even more. From having a confrontation with a classmate and calling her out in front of the whole class because I was just done with her, to calling out a previous teacher and classmates on the unnecessary potty language, I learned that I just need to say what’s on my mind instead of penting it up inside. I know those 2 experiences may not sound like a big deal but they were huge for me because it took some serious guts on my part to vocalize my opinion and realize that I was going to be offending some people. It gave me a new level of self confidence that I didn’t know I had. I made wonderful friends and I am so thankful that I chose to come to Capri and I haven’t regretted my decision to become a massage therapist or where to get my schooling for one second. It has been a wonderful road. I wouldn’t trade purple underwear for the world.